“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else it the greatest accomplishment.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
How many times have you heard, “You can’t…” “You won’t…” “You shouldn’t…”? There’s a whole list of things out there that you are told you will fail at. It ranges from career choices to looks to artistic ability.
I remember when my family had to bow out of farming. Years of drought, bad grain prices, and crops that were subpar took a beating on us. My dad started a new career at forty-five. That was one of the hardest things in the world for him. Selling off all your equipment and praying to not go into foreclosure hurt. It’s a struggle that many farmers still deal with every year. Is this the year we will have to stop? Will we make enough money? Will we get hailed out? Will the bugs get the crops?
Any number of things can happen. This day and age, you don’t see many kids growing up saying, “I’m going to be a farmer” or “I’m going to raise cattle”. If you haven’t got a leg up, it’s a tough career to get into by yourself. Most farms and ranches are generational. That’s not to say that the fourth generation didn’t work as hard as the first generation or that there haven’t been tough times. Each year, each passing season, holds some type of natural occurrence that can make or break a farm or ranch. There comes a point in there where you get to decide what breaks you.
I know a young man who just graduated high school. He is going to go to college, but only as a backup plan. He’s going to start his own farm and ranch operation, and I truly believe he will be successful. It takes a special kind of person, man or woman, to decide to take on that endeavor. These are the types of people that can’t be defined by society norms. They think outside the box.
Some sage advice: Don’t let the world tell you who to be. And always be the good.
